Reproductive Rights of Minor - Essay Example

Reproductive Rights of Minor and Section # of Table of Contents Sr. No Topic Page Number Defining Reproductive Rights 3 2 Case in Hands 3 3 Arguments for Reproductive Rights of Minor 4 4 Conclusion 6 Reproductive Rights of Minor Outline: Defining Reproductive Rights Definition Minors Legal Standing Role of Media Case in Hand Age of Girl Situation Pro-Reproductive Rights Arguments for Reproductive Rights for Minors: Maturity not dependant on the age of a person Court Ruling Against abortion movement becoming stronger Need quick decision making since a person’s life is at stake thus the quickest decisions are made by self. Education and Awareness Confidential family planning services Conclusion Reproductive Rights of Minor Defining Reproductive Rights: The term reproductive rights of minor are used when there have to be some legal considerations for the matter of abortion when it comes to minors getting pregnant. But since times have passed, the umbrella of the term “reproductive rights” has expanded and thus it now also includes issues like surrogacy, condom availability program, contraception etc. Minors are all those people who are under the age of 18, and thus they are called minors because they have not matured enough to make decisions themselves and are termed “incapacitate” by law. Issues related to abortion are sub categorized within the category of reproductive rights and have invited a lot of attention from many groups such as the media, the law and the masses. (Shoshanna, 2002) Case in Hand: The case which is to be deliberated upon at this point in time is that of a pregnant girl, who is just 14 years old, which makes her fall into the minor bracket. She wants to have an abortion, but according to the legal system that prevails, she cannot do so without the consent of her parents. Now the arguments that I am going to present is that reproductive rights of minor should be flexible in the sense that they should be totally upon the minor itself, in terms of what they want to do once they get pregnant. The arguments that I give will focus on the pro-side of the reproductive rights of minor that is, they must have the right to go through abortion without the consent of their parents and without even bringing this issue to their notice. Arguments for Reproductive Rights for Minors: The first argument is that maturity of a person cannot be judged by the age that he has, rather it should be judged by the level of experience that the person has had since he has been born. A 14 year old might be more mature than a 21 year old, considering the upbringing that they have had. The 14 year old might have had to face situations at home where they had to make both ends meet, lived on hunger for days and learned to face the external world confidently. Whereas, on the other hand, the 21 year old might have lived a pampered and sheltered life all his life and thus has no experience of what the outside world is all about and what does it mean to be mature and to handle things independently. This argument is further strengthened by the decision of the Missouri Court in 1979, where they announced the law that the minor is allowed to have an abortion without parental consent and knowledge if they demonstrate enough maturity in the court and can handle the case effectively and in an adult-like manner. (Nations Health, 1997) Moreover, the amount of people who have started opposing the process of abortion have increased in momentum and the number of interest groups who have started focusing on abortion cases is accelerating. Thus, when parental consent is required, there is always the fear that the parents will be influenced by these interest groups or worse, be part of these interest groups themselves. In such a case, they might not sign and give their parental consent to allow for the abortion of the minor. They might want their minor to bear the baby and bring the baby to the world, after 9 months of extreme pain, not meant for an innocent body like that of a minor. The extent of people being against the abortion case is that there have been bombings, blockades and episodes of violence right on and inside abortion clinic, because of the nature of work that is being done there. Many gynecologists are not willing to perform an abortion, because they fear the repercussions in the sense that they might become the target for such violence. Thus, minors should be allowed to abort the baby without any one’s consent. (Erickson, 2001) Furthermore, it can be said that for the most important and quick decision of some one’s life, dependency should not be there on a third party. In the case that is being discussed here, it is a very important decision for the minor, whether the child that she is bearing gets aborted or not and the third party in this case are the parents. These decisions need to be quick. And there can be instances when the parents are not available, might be out of town, and are not accessible for a month or two. In such a case, dependency on their consent for an abortion is going to ruin the life of the minor. Another argument for the reproductive rights of minor are that the minors need to educated about sex, and being safe with it, rather than being taught to do abstinence. Proper education programs will lead to increased awareness of the minors and such situations will not be created where the minor will have to bear a baby and face the issue of receiving parental consent before going for abortion. This argument is a pro-active one, that is, rather than being reactive about minors getting pregnant and taking away their reproductive rights, the blame should be taken by the state in the sense that it should have been their responsibility to equip their minors with sufficient knowledge so that they do not get into such a mess. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1998) Moreover, reproductive rights for minors should be allowed without the consent of parental knowledge because of one more proactive stance that should have been taken by the state and that is provision of confidential family planning services. These services include the provision of emergency contraception (EC), which help in avoiding pregnancies which are unwanted. Moreover, these services also help in making sure that there are no sexually transmissible infections (STIs). Thus, the state should take proactive measures to make sure that such instances do not occur, and the minor has to go through the hassle of receiving consent, which might not be given by the parents. (New York Civil Liberties Union, 2008) Thus, to conclude, it can be said that it is extremely essential to allow minors to have abortions without parental consent so as to save the minors life from getting ruined. References Erickson, Jan (2001) Reproductive Rights Status Report: Outlook Negative. National NOW Times. Nations Health (1997) California’s high court ensures reproductive rights of minors. September , Vol. 27 Issue 8, p7 New York Civil Liberties Union (2008) Minors Right to Reproductive Health Care in New York. Retrieved September 17, 2008, from NYCLU. Web Site: http://www.nyclu.org/node/1081 Shoshanna, J (2002) Grounded in the Reality of their Lives: Listening to Teens who make the abortion decision without involving their parents. Boston. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1998) Adolescents Reproductive Rights Under Seige. Retrieved September 17, 2008, from Center of Reproductive Rights. Web site: http://www.reproductiverights.org/hill_pri_adoles.html.com U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2002) U.S. Agency’s Regulations Erode Minor’s Right to Privacy. Retrieved September 17, 2008, from Center of Reproductive Rights. Web site: http://www.reproductiverights.org/hill_pri_adoles.html.com Read More